Run Stable Diffusion XL
Ready in about 90 seconds. No install, no setup. From $0.45 per hour.
What it does
Stable Diffusion XL makes images from text. You describe what you want and it draws it, at roughly the size and quality of a stock photo.
It is the most widely used open image model, which means it understands a very broad range of subjects and styles. It also has the largest library of add-ons, so you can teach it a specific product, face, or art style later.
It is the safe first choice for product shots, marketing images, concept art, and social posts.
What you can make
These are prompts, not fixed presets. The workspace opens with one of them already loaded so your first result is one click away.
Your setup
We run this on an RTX 4090. It holds the whole model in memory and makes one 1024x1024 image in about 8 seconds. $0.45 per hour, billed by the minute.
Why this card?
Stable Diffusion XL needs about 12GB of memory to run at full size without swapping parts of itself in and out. The RTX 4090 has 24GB, so the model and its refiner both stay resident and every image runs at full speed. Cheaper 8GB cards can run it, but they offload to system memory and each image takes three to four times longer, which costs more overall despite the lower hourly rate.
- Memory
- 24GB
- Speed
- about 8 seconds per image
- Rate
- $0.45/hr
What will it cost you?
Billed by the minute on a RTX 4090 at $0.45 per hour. A batch job shuts the GPU off when the last image is done, so this is the whole cost.
Two ways to run it
Click and use it
Open ComfyUI in your browser with a working image graph already loaded. Type a prompt, press go. Best for exploring and dialing in a look.
Get early access Best for exploring.Hand us the whole pile
Upload a spreadsheet of prompts. We generate every image, hand back a zip, and shut the GPU off. Best for producing a catalog in one pass.
Join the list Best for volume. The GPU shuts off automatically when it is done.Model facts
| Parameters | 3.5B (base UNet) |
|---|---|
| License | CreativeML Open RAIL++-M |
| Memory required | 12GB minimum, 24GB recommended |
| Base model | Trained from scratch by Stability AI |
| Publisher | Stability AI |
| Recommended hardware | RTX 4090, 24GB |
| Hugging Face | stabilityai/stable-diffusion-xl-base-1.0 |
Want Stable Diffusion XL the day it opens?
We are testing the rental flow with a small group first. Leave an email and we will tell you when Stable Diffusion XL is ready to run. One message, no newsletter.
Stable Diffusion XL questions
Can I sell the images Stable Diffusion XL makes?
Yes. Stable Diffusion XL is released under the CreativeML Open RAIL++-M license, which permits commercial use of the images you generate. The license restricts what you may use the model for, not what you may do with the output. You are still responsible for not generating someone else’s trademark or a real person’s likeness and selling it.
Do I need to write prompts in a special way?
No. A plain sentence works. "A ceramic coffee mug on a linen tablecloth in morning light" is a complete prompt. Adding words like "studio photo" or "watercolor" steers the style. The workspace we hand you has a starting prompt already in it so you can edit rather than start from a blank box.
Do I need to install anything to use Stable Diffusion XL?
No. We start a machine with Stable Diffusion XL already loaded and hand you a link. Everything runs in your browser, there is nothing to download, and nothing is left on your computer afterwards. It works the same on a Mac, a Windows laptop, or a Chromebook. A workspace is usually ready in about 90 seconds.
How much does it cost to run 500 images?
About $0.50. Stable Diffusion XL takes about 8 seconds per image on the RTX 4090 we recommend, so 500 images is roughly 67 minutes of GPU time at $0.45 per hour. Billing is by the minute, and a batch job shuts the GPU off the moment the last item finishes. The calculator above works this out for your own numbers.
Can I run Stable Diffusion XL on a cheaper card?
Sometimes, and the calculator will not always make it look worth it. Stable Diffusion XL needs about 12GB of memory to run at full size without swapping parts of itself in and out. The RTX 4090 has 24GB, so the model and its refiner both stay resident and every image runs at full speed. Cheaper 8GB cards can run it, but they offload to system memory and each image takes three to four times longer, which costs more overall despite the lower hourly rate. If you want to try a different card anyway, the advanced catalog lets you pick one and shows the estimated time before you commit.
What are the license restrictions on Stable Diffusion XL?
Stable Diffusion XL is released under the CreativeML Open RAIL++-M. That is not a permissive license, so read it before you use the output in paid work. We show the license on every model page precisely because this catches people out, and there is usually a permissively licensed alternative in the same category.
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